Posted By Evelyn Lee On August 13, 2008 @ 5:00 am In Air quality,Environment,Renewable Energy,Wind Power | 1 Comment

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Texas[2] will soon be super-sizing its commitment to wind power, proving the adage that everything is, indeed, “bigger in Texas.” Already the nation’s leader in wind energy, the Lone Star state has been given a preliminary go-ahead to allocate $4.9 billion towards building new transmission lines to carry wind energy from rural areas into urban hubs like Dallas[3]. This doesn’t necessarily mean the production of new turbines[4], just the most efficient use of the existing wind energy infrastructure. The upgrade stands to harness 18,000 megawatts from Texas’ 4,000 wind turbines – enough to power more than 4 million homes.

The new proposal will cost residents of the Lone Star state an additional $3 to $4 per month, but that’s a small price to pay when an infrastructure upgrade will dramatically lower energy prices in the long run. Local renewable energy companies are eager to assist, and will be contributing their own funds to help create the wind superhighway.

Once the plan receives the final go-ahead from the Public Utilities Commission[5] (PUC), the “renewable energy superhighway” could be up and running within three to five years. Unfortunately one of the primary dissenters happens to be PUC[5] Commissioner Julie Caruthers Parsley, who argued that the plan might overpower the current electricity grid and delay the construction of other projects such as Nuclear Reactors. I think it’s obvious where Inhabitat stands on that discussion, and we obviously prefer the viability of a renewable energy source over one that will need to be rebuilt within the next 100 years.

[3] Dallas: http://inhabitat.com">wind power, proving the adage that everything is, indeed, “bigger in Texas.” Already the nation’s leader in wind energy, the Lone Star state has been given a preliminary go-ahead to allocate $4.9 billion towards building new transmission lines to carry wind energy from rural areas into urban hubs like